The Time We Must Wait
by Nagareboshi Star
Summary: Because with every ticking of the wooden clock, our time is diminishing, and the chance we have of a happy ending slips through our fingers like rippling sand. But still I sit here, and wait for you. Because love bought us together, and in love we shall die. Kanju Oneshot. Gameverse.


The room grew deathly still, save for the persistent clacking and clocking of the wall clock, the wood creaking and twisting with regular thumps as second after second passed. In steady intervals, the earth rumbled terrifyingly, everything seeming heavier, the air thicker.

She sat on her bed, her hands laid neatly on top of each other on her lap; until those fingers began to squeeze one another hopefully, fearfully, teeth biting lip, eyebrows scrunching and oculars beginning to fill with tears that threatened to fall. Yet despite the treacherous palpitations of her heart, she never dared to give up hope. There was a chance that he would could - no, he _would definitely_ come, for he had promised it.

And Kafei always kept his word. He was not the bravest of warriors, nor the grandest of men. As the mayor's son, he relished a specific amount of respect from his peers as well as a chunk of authority, but he never misused the power he was born with – his heart was an honest one, a delicate one. He was the kind of boy to be bullied by the bigger kids, to ignore their jibes and just accept the insults, but to never seek revenge.

He had honour and he had love. He saw the world with happiness and beauty and, if needed, he could provide enough courage to perform a heroic deed once in a while which, ultimately, might save the joy in his life.

Anju believed in him. From the bottom of her heart; with every fibre of her being. They had been children once, and he had been kind and tender where everyone else was rough and demanding. Then, everyone began to treat her with caution; for many sought her affection, only _he_ was ready to be genuine with his love. No one would dare to speak words that might sadden her; even so, if it was the truth, then Kafei spoke it. He respected her feelings, but he respected sincerity even more.

Anju loved that about him. A smile crept onto her lips, something bitter-sweet in the way she trembled together with the whole of Termina.

Link heard her silent whimper, turning with furrowed brows to her form as a foot impatiently tapped against the wooden floor. A sigh demanded to escape his lips, yet he held himself together. He could not afford for Miss Anju to realise his distress. It would only agitate her even more; but he wanted her to cling to that hope.

The earth vibrated anew, Link nearly losing his footing as he stumbled towards the window. His eyes scanned the empty market place, the quietude that reigned within Clock Town, only the shivering soldiers guarding the exits with angst-filled glances directed towards the approaching moon.

It was coming closer and closer with every hour that passed by; three or four hours, the young, eight-year-old blonde presumed. More time was not left before Skull Kid would make the huge comet crash into their world and wipe out generations of humanity. The third day was nearing its end; if Kafei did not hurry...

He cursed internally, Tatl fluttering about like a nervous heap of distraught fairy-dust. Shutting his azure eyes for a moment as he gnawed on his lower lip, he recalled the moment both he and Kafei left Sakon's hideout, the precious sun mask within their grasp.

"_Finally...now I can finally face Anju!_" Kafei had declared with so much enlightenment and happiness that he sprinted down the hill of the canyon, disappearing as rapidly as he had come, _"I need to hurry! I have no time left! She must still be waiting for me!"_

His form then faded before Link could call out, a hand outstretched _"But Kafei! Wait! I've got a-"_

No point in finishing his sentence with the words _"-horse, which is much faster than going by foot!"_

Kafei was gone with the wind, eager to see his Anju before it was too late. All the blonde hero could do was sigh.

"_What a silly boy. Acts without thinking, just like Tael!" _His fairy companion had complained then, bouncing around, _"Let's go! I want to see them reunite!"_

Shaking his head with a saddened smile, the boy played his magical ocarina to transport them back to Clock Town with the Song of Soaring. Feathers enwrapped them and with the speed of light, they were back where emptiness reigned and evacuations were undertaken.

_Of course_ Kafei was not yet there when Link raced towards Stock Pot Inn, throwing the door open and tumbling up those stairs to Anju's room. She jolted when he entered, having obviously hoped it to be Kafei. Her eyes flickered down for a brief, sorrowful moment, but Link's information that she needed to wait only a little longer and that he _would_ come reassured her.

"He _will_ come, Miss Anju!" The small, green-clad boy barked once more as his fingers dug into the ledge of the window, his eyes frantically searching the canyon exit for the appearance of a short, violet-haired boy, "He is on his way..." his voice lost volume, a quick glance at the clock informing him that not even two hours were left before their demise struck upon them.

The earthquakes were becoming heavier and came within shorter intervals.

"That boy...that boy..." Tatl muttered, flapping here, fluttering there, gold and amber particles of glitter frolicking around her minuscule body.

"He is a _man_, not a boy, Tatl!" Link warned, eyes now averted towards the heavens. The mass of grey horror was glaring menacingly down on them.

Another quiver of the ground and suddenly, the silver-and-gold mask hanging upon the mannequin with the silken wedding dress cluttered to the ground. Anju's enlarged orbs observed as it came to a halt in front of her feet. With carefully trembling fingers, she picked up her artwork on which she had laboured for many months.

Her knuckles turned white as she gripped it tightly, a single droplet of salty water escaping her eye as _everything_ came crashing down on her. Every blissful memory she and Kafei owned.

"He will come..." Link muttered once more, "Kafei...hurry!"

And then! The alleviation! The door creaked open, a young, meek hand slipping through until a child, no older than eight or nine, walked through, violet hair raging towards his shoulders, maroon eyes shyly inspecting the inside of the room. He took in a measured breath as he met with Anju's tender, yet astonished, face.

Her hand darted towards her mouth, blue eyes grand and full of mesmerization as well as realisation. He trudged towards her timidly, the mask in his hand, glinting within the dimming light of the fading day.

She saw him, and she saw _them._ Within seconds she was catapulted back in time to when they were innocent children, on a field, playing and laughing and having so much fun. She saw him grab her hand, felt the warmth of his appendages as he dragged her towards the centre of the town, when the fireworks burst through the sky and enlightened the entire town; men and women danced and sung, cheering, drinking, eating. Everyone wore specially made masks to honour the four gods. And there they were – a young, adorable couple, exchanging masks with scarlet cheeks before their lips met under the moonlight. They were then announced wed.

"_One day..._" Kafei began, still holding her hand firmly in his, the edges of his mouth curled upwards, _"...that'll be us._" He turned towards her with meaningful eyes, observed as she blushed a very deep shade, not hearing the agitated way in which he heart attempted to leave her ribcage, "_I'll give you a mask, and you'll give me one, and then we'll be married. We'll start a family; here, in Clock Town, and be happy." _He smiled, and she smiled with him, nodding at that.

"_Promise._"

"_Promise!"_

The assault of memories caused her knees to buckle as she fell onto them, now on level with the young boy who's face she had engraved into every part of her conscience.

"I know that face..." She whispered, tears seeping into her voice, a new sensation overtaking her body, "I remember that boy...that promise. I...we..." She could not find the words for it – dared not to speak them. Her fear was too great that all of this was just a dream, a figment of her hallucinating mind.

"I'm sorry I'm late." He excused, and even though his voice was that of a young child, he spoke the way her beloved _Kafei_ did, with the strength and the adoration she only knew _him_ to own, "I came as fast as I could, I-" He would not finish that sentence as she grasped him tightly into an embrace.

They hugged for what seemed to be hours; the earth rattling warningly. Link's eyes softened at the sight, a smile gracing his lips and, as he glanced to his left, also Tatl's. Suddenly, they separated slightly, pulling out their masks and placing them together. Without warning, blinding light erupted from their constructed artworks and their love combined to form a mesmerizing, shimmering mask that had a consoling and calming atmosphere about it.

"Thank you Link." Kafei spoke, the mask now in his hands as he turned to face the boy who had aided him in the thief's hideout, "For bringing us together, thank you!"

"Take the mask as a symbol of our love; for you are the witness of this matrimony." Anju added, her cheeks flushed as her hands held those of her now-husband.

He nodded, a bitter-sweet smile on his lips, "I will."

"You should leave as fast as you can, there is still some time left if you take your horse. We'll be fine; because we are finally united. We won't leave our home, and we won't leave each other; if we die, then as a husband and wife." Emotional eyes locked with those of her lover as they stared with meaningfulness at one another.

"We're together..." Kafei confirmed, once more losing himself in the embrace of the woman of his heart.

Tatl giggled beside Link, who stared with melancholy at the couple that desperately clung to each other whilst the moon began to graze the edges of Clock Town, "Even though they are a love-couple, they look like mother and son!"

The young hero frowned at her comment, his azure orbs darting critically towards her, "Don't be ridiculous, Tatl! He's been cursed! He is a grown man in reality!"

She sighed, shaking her head, "I know I know! I'm only kidding...and besides, if they have children at one point, then this might not be so off from the truth someday." Her voice took on an understanding, sympathetic tone and Link simply nodded, knowing exactly how she felt, "Come on, Link. Time to go." She nudged at his ocarina, which lay heavily against his side.

Gradually, his fingers graced the soft surface of the carefully polished instrument, pulling it into his hands.

"Let's turn back time, we have the mask now."

But the boy scowled at the magical item in his hands. He was reminded of his own lost love and a heaviness overcame his heart, his fingers shaking slightly.

"Link?" Tatl was confused by his reaction, swinging in front of his visage to see what he was thinking.

"If...I turn back time now...none of this will have ever happened. Only _we_ will remember." He uttered sorrowfully, his eyes lowered.

Her own shoulders slumped as she neared his face, her voice soft, "I know...but if you don't, we _all_ will _die_."

The last words seemed to have caught him out of his reverie; before Tatl needed to contemplate further words of reasoning, his lips covered the ocarina and he played the fateful tune.

Everything began to turn a cleansing white; time was ticking backwards, gravity was fading, voices were rushing past rapidly, some higher in pitch, others lower, as everything that had occurred these past three days; all the friendships Link had made, all the lives he had saved and villains he had fought, faded and reversed.

It trembled and staggered before time found its normal pace again, halting as the hero rediscovered himself in front of the Clock Tower, dawn of the first day dooming over them.

Builders were working ahead, a resonating ruckus throughout town. People were cheering, the sun only just rising. The knowledge of demise was still buried at the back of peoples' minds.

"And back to the beginning!" Tatl spoke, new vigour entering her tone as she fluttered forwards, "Alright! Next destination is-"

But before she could complete her phrase, Link halted, frozen to the spot, his eyes lingering in south-western direction towards a staircase.

A young boy with a yellow Keaton mask came trudging down those steps, carefully measured glances directed left and right. His violet hair shone in the orange rays of sunlight. He wandered towards the postbox, throwing in a letter before he took a mad dash for the stairs again, disappearing behind a corner.

"Six-thirty exactly, then." Tatl commented, having realised where Link's saddened oculars were directed at.

"None...none of it happened. Miss Anju never got to realise that Kafei is still here, that he would come for her, that she would have to wait for him because he would definitely return...That he still loves her."

"Link..." She could detect the bitterness and rage he was beginning to speak with.

"I won't be there to help them – to help _him_ when he falls into Sakon's trap..."

"Link." With a stern demeanour, she whooshed in front of him, eyebrows furrowed, "There is no point in mourning over this now. If you want to save them, then we _need_ to stop the Skull Kid from destroying Clock Town. It's our only chance to save everyone; to save _their_ happy ending. By freeing those giants." She reminded him of his duty, of the harsh reality, of everything he needed to remember in order to continue as the silent, unseen hero that he was.

He was trembling with anger that was bound to be released any minute. That horrific Skull Kid...how _could_ he!? What right did he believe to have to simply destroy the happiness of others?

"You should not be mad. He is hurting just as much as Anju and Kafei." Tatl's sweet voice interrupted, her own expression one of sorrow and empathy, "He is being abused by the dark power of Majora, and we need to save him as much as we need to save _everyone_. If you want to see Termina see day four, then let's free those giants and stop this madness, once and for all."

She was right. She was very right. It was their only chance.

"I know." His fingers glided into his bag, where he protruded the lover's mask from Anju's and Kafei's wedding. It shimmered in a pastel rainbow colour, glowing like a jewel. Determination began to settle and Link smiled briefly to himself, "Alright! Where are we headed next, Tatl?"

"Finally, that's the spirit! Well, next stop on our route is..."

* * *

_**A/N: **The Canyon. The next stop is the canyon. Obviously, you need the hookshot to complete the Kanju Quest, after all. Although you do not need to complete Great Bay Temple...deeerrrrp._

_This is so unlike me. I adore LoZ, but I never usually write fanfiction for it. But playing the Kafei/Anju quest had me SO emotional that I decided to read the manga and see how they depicted it there. I was a little disappointed. The irony, bitterness and emotionality of the in-game scene was lost in the manga. One of my closest friends only knows the manga, and when I told her the REAL version, she was surprised how much more bittersweetness it contains._

_So here it is, the probably most popular MM side-quest that has had everyone moved to tears. The SLIGHTEST hint of a Linkxanother-character moment, it's quite obvious who, but I like to have you guess and spot it out. So feel free to tell me if you found it! :P_

_Tell me how you found this scene in the game. I hope I conveyed the feelings just right._

_Peace x_


End file.
